


No Gift

by ancalime8301



Series: Legacy [5]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-07-11
Updated: 2003-07-11
Packaged: 2018-06-05 13:53:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6706864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ancalime8301/pseuds/ancalime8301
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frodo is finally let in on what the others have been discussing. He doesn't take it well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Gift

Frodo slept deeply, guarded closely by Sam, who only allowed Aragorn and Elrond to approach his resting master, and only once they promised not to wake him, just check on his temperature. Which they did, and decided he was still too warm for their liking, so they returned with a few cloths and a basin of lukewarm water. Aragorn began to soothingly run a wet cloth over Frodo's face while Elrond attended to Frodo's chest and stomach, kneeling to unbutton the thin shirt. Sam half expected Frodo to suddenly sit up and tell Lord Elrond to back off; he hadn't let anyone that close to him or see him anything other than fully clothed in weeks.

But Frodo didn't even flinch as the cloth began spreading swipes of dampness over his chest, though Sam suspected perhaps Aragorn's ministrations on Frodo's head had something to do with it. He remembered that the Ranger could send one into a 'healing sleep' (but he privately wondered if that was just an excuse for Aragorn to put you out so you don't resist what he's trying to do, *especially* if you're as stubborn as a certain Baggins).

Sam followed the motions of Elrond's cloth with his eyes, pleased to note that Frodo was finally beginning to fill out a bit. Perhaps that was what he was so self-conscious of, but Sam had no idea why. It was right proper for a hobbit to be on the round side!

Elrond also seemed to notice Frodo's weight gain, though what he thought about it Sam couldn't tell. He seemed to pause, as if in deep thought, then continued as if nothing happened. All the while he and Aragorn were cooling Frodo down, they seemed to be having a silent conversation. Sam was sure Lord Elrond was saying things into Aragorn's mind, and he would respond with a head shake or a wave of his hand, and as they finished, Elrond buttoning Frodo's shirt back up and Aragorn dumping the water not too far away, Sam had enough.

"All right then, what is it? You might as well tell me now as save it for later," he insisted, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Frodo.

The two exchanged amused glances before Elrond replied. "You see truly when it regards your master, Samwise. Tell me, what does your heart say on the matter?"

Sam was rather taken aback; this was not the type of answer he'd expected. He shot a bashful glance at Frodo while he tried to put everything together in his mind, tried to figure out what the elven lord was telling him . . . wait. No, that *couldn't* be it! He shot another look at Frodo's peacefully sleeping face. Could it?

He looked questioningly up at Elrond and Aragorn; the elf's face was, as usual, indecipherable, but Aragorn could be read more easily, and Sam saw his answer plain as the nose on the King's face. "No!" he gasped, incredulous. "That's impossible… isn't it?"

"In ordinary cases, yes. But in light of the evidence, we must conclude that this event is not ordinary and the impossible has occurred," Elrond responded.

"So you're trying to tell me…"

"Yes, Sam." Aragorn's expression was sincere. After a moment, he sighed. "Now we must find a way to tell Frodo."

"He's not going to believe you."

"I know. But he has to. To deny it won't change what's happened."

The subject of their discussion shifted and sighed, and Sam said sagely, "He's wakin' up." True to his word, Frodo soon blinked sleepily and turned his head to look at Aragorn and Sam, Elrond having left to see to putting the basin away, leaving the two friends as they debated how best to reveal the shocking news.

"Feeling better?" Aragorn addressed Frodo, who lay blinking for a moment more before slowly venturing, "Yes, I believe so..."

"Good." The man paused, trying to pick the best way to say it... "Frodo... there's something you need to know."

He eyed Sam and Aragorn warily, sitting up on his bedroll. "What is it?" he asked, resigned, glancing nervously back and forth between the two.

Sam sat staring down at his hands, reddening as he thought about just what they had to tell him. Aragorn sighed and began slowly, "Those problems you've been having-being tired all the time, the nausea, and all of that-are symptoms..." He took a deep breath and continued, looking the hobbit in the eye, "You're pregnant, Frodo."

Confused, Frodo looked down at himself, then back up at Aragorn. "But... but that's impossible! I know how those things work..."

"I know it's hard to believe, but the signs are unmistakable. We think Eru has gifted you this child to help you heal from all you've endured."

"No... no," Frodo shook his head, standing up and starting to back slowly away. "Surely you jest."

"I would not jest about such a thing," Aragorn said earnestly.

Frodo paled as he realized Aragorn was indeed telling the truth, standing stock-still as his eyes widened. For a moment the King was afraid the hobbit would faint, but he did not. "Why?" he demanded.

"Why what?"

"*Why* was this done to me?"

"Done *to* you? It is a *gift,* Frodo-"

"A *gift*?!" He snorted derisively. "Some gift! Being able to go home and have it be as if none of this ever happened... *that* would be a gift. But not this. It was going to be bad enough going back with this-" he waved his four-fingered hand "-but now it's even worse! I have always been an outsider, an oddity." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "The poor little orphan, shuttled from one relative to another until finally he was left to his own devices; 'That Brandybuck,' the heir of old Mad Baggins; the queer hobbit who talks to outlandish folk and never ages... And now I will be the queer hobbit with a child of questionable origin." He shook his head slowly with a bitter laugh. "Haven't I borne enough?"

Frodo turned and stalked away, quickly disappearing into the underbrush.

Sam started forward to follow him, but Aragorn pulled him back. "No, Sam. Give him some time to get used to the idea," he said softly, and Sam nodded slowly, still eyeing the bushes where Frodo was lost from sight.


End file.
